Comparison

HackerPillar vs Hacker Reader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HackerPillar

This app offers a streamlined and focused reading experience for Hacker News. It features a clean feed, readable comment threads, and a reader mode for articles. Users can save stories, read offline, and track discussions.

Highlights
  • Fast Hacker News feed
  • Readable comment threads
  • Focused Reader Mode
  • Saved stories and offline library
  • Thread tracking
  • Advanced search (Pro)
  • Home screen widget
Features
Read full description

HackerPillar helps you read Hacker News with less friction and more focus. Browse top stories in a clean, high-performance feed, open deep discussions with readable comment threads, and switch to Reader Mode for long-form articles. Save stories, read offline, and track threads you care about. Key features: - Fast, modern Hacker News feed - Readable comments with thread controls - Focused Reader Mode - Saved Stories + Offline Library - Thread tracking and activity checks - Advanced search and custom feeds (Pro) - Home screen widget support - Share extension for quick imports HackerPillar Pro unlocks: - HN account actions (login, vote, reply) - Advanced search and custom feeds - Extended reader and tracking features - Additional power-user tools across the app Subscription details: - Title: HackerPillar Pro - Length: Monthly and Yearly - Price: Pricing varies by region and is shown in-app before purchase - Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Manage or cancel in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions Privacy Policy: http://smartcodeapps.tech/hackerpillar-privacy-policy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Built for people who read Hacker News every day.

About

Hacker Reader

A native iOS client for Hacker News offering a streamlined reading experience with home screen widgets, community interaction, and a beautiful, dark-mode-friendly design. Securely log in to upvote, comment, and bookmark stories.

Highlights
  • Browse all story categories
  • Upvote stories and comments
  • Secure login with HN account
  • Post comments and replies
  • Bookmark stories
  • Home screen widgets
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

Hacker Reader is a calm, native Hacker News client. Clean white cards in Light Mode, warm charcoal in Dark Mode, serif story pages, comment threads that are easy to follow, and widgets that keep the top stories on your Home Screen and Lock Screen. On iPad, the list and the story sit side by side. BROWSE THE STORY FEEDS • Top Stories - what's ranking on HN right now • Best Stories - the highest-voted stories • New Stories - recently submitted content • Ask HN - questions and discussions from the community • Show HN - projects, products and creations shared by users • Jobs - openings at YC companies • Past front pages - any day's front page, from the feed menu • Switch feeds from the menu in the header, with infinite scrolling and pull to refresh • Numbered cards show the site's icon and domain, points, comments, author and age, plus a thumbnail when the page has one • Stories you have opened are dimmed, and a badge shows how many new comments arrived since • Long-press a card to peek at the story, upvote, bookmark, share, hide it, or mute its site READ AND FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION • Story pages open with a serif headline, a large link preview and the byline • Ask HN and Show HN posts are labeled, with their full text • Articles open in an in-app browser • Nested comments with quiet orange depth rails • Tap a comment's header to collapse its thread and see how many replies are hidden • Jump between top-level comments, or collapse every thread • Comments newer than your last visit are marked • Choose a text size in Settings • The original poster is marked OP INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY Sign in with your Hacker News account to: • Upvote stories with a tap on the points, or from the long-press menu • Post comments and replies • Delete your recent comments • Submit a story from your profile • Flag stories (HN karma rules apply) No account is needed to browse, bookmark stories for later, hide stories, mute keywords and sites, or block users you'd rather not see. PROFILES AND SEARCH • Tap a username in a thread or on a story page to see their karma, member-since date, bio and recent stories and comments • Tap a comment in someone's submissions to jump to it in the thread • Once you sign in, the Profile tab shows your own karma and submissions • Search stories or comments, by relevance or newest, with a date range, a minimum score, and author:name HOME SCREEN AND LOCK SCREEN WIDGETS • Small shows the top story, Medium the top 2, Large the top 7 • A Lock Screen widget with the top 3 headlines • Points, comments and age at a glance on the Home Screen • Widgets refresh on their own when stories go stale, even with the app closed • Light, dark and tinted Home Screens are supported • Tap a story to open it in the app A WARM, NATIVE DESIGN • Clean white cards in Light Mode, warm charcoal in Dark Mode, never pure black • Follows your system, or pick Light or Dark in Settings • Solid reading surfaces with orange accents that match the app icon • On iPad and other wide windows, a fixed list beside the open story, and lines that stay a comfortable width • Native iOS tabs, menus and toolbars, SF Symbols and subtle haptics • Link previews with Open Graph images PRIVACY & SECURITY • Sign in with a native form: your password goes straight to Hacker News over HTTPS and is never stored in the app • Your session is kept in the iOS Keychain • Bookmarks, hidden stories, blocked users, mutes and reading history are stored on your device • Open source - read the code on GitHub Hacker Reader is designed and built by an indie developer who loves Hacker News and wanted a calmer way to read it. It's built with React Native, Expo and SwiftUI. Questions or feedback? Open an issue on GitHub, find me on X at @danielcspaiva, or reach out via the support URL. Not affiliated with Y Combinator or Hacker News. Built using the official HN API (https://github.com/HackerNews/API) and Algolia's HN Search API.

Screenshots

HackerPillar4 screens
Hacker Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: HackerPillar at 5.0 against Hacker Reader's 3.0. HackerPillar also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Hacker Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HackerPillar sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Hacker Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HackerPillar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HackerPillar ships an update fortnightly, Hacker Reader every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
HackerPillar versus Hacker Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHackerPillarHacker Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB65 MB
Age rating17++9
DeveloperTaha BroachwalaDaniel Capistrano Sarinho Paiva

Customer experience

HackerPillar

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Hacker Reader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

HackerPillar

Subscriptions1
  • HackerPillar Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
None

Hacker Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HackerPillar free?
HackerPillar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hacker Reader free?
Hacker Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HackerPillar or Hacker Reader?
HackerPillar is rated higher. HackerPillar averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Hacker Reader averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do HackerPillar or Hacker Reader have ads?
Neither HackerPillar nor Hacker Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HackerPillar or Hacker Reader?
HackerPillar ships an update fortnightly, and Hacker Reader every 2 months. Most recently, HackerPillar was updated on October 27, 2026 and Hacker Reader on October 24, 2026.

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